Alaska jury finds Greenpeace guilty on oil spill related charges

The Associated Press

On May 9 an Alaska jury found Greenpeace guilty on two misdemeanor criminal negligence charges that were filed after the group’s ship entered Alaska waters for an anti-logging campaign without required paperwork.

Greenpeace’s ship came to Alaska to conduct an anti-logging campaign in the Tongass National Forest. The ship was carrying more than 70,000 gallons (265,000 liters) of “petroleum products” at the time, court papers said.

Under state law, a large non-tank vessel must file an oil spill response plan application five days before entering state waters. Greenpeace had not, but said the oversight was quickly corrected.

Greenpeace and Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorensen each was charged with four counts of misdemeanor criminal negligence — two for failing to have an oil spill prevention and contingency plan and two for failing to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility for oil spill damages.

The ship’s agent, Willem Beekman, was charged with one count of failing to have an oil spill prevention plan and one count of failing to obtain the financial responsibility certification.

The six-person state District Court jury convicted Greenpeace on two counts of failing to have the oil spill prevention plan and acquitted the group on the two counts of failing to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility.

Sorensen was convicted on three counts, and Beekman was acquitted on all charges.

Maximum fine of $200,000

Criminal negligence carries a maximum $200,000 (euro155,958) fine for an organization, and a year in prison and a $10,000 (euro7,798) fine for an individual.

“Obviously, we’re pleased the jury returned the guilty verdicts that they did,” said prosecutor James Fayette, an assistant state attorney general.

“And we’re very gratified that the judge, Kevin Miller, ruled several times during the course of the trial that Greenpeace was prosecuted not because of who they were or for political reasons but because of what they did and what happened.”

“There are some inconsistencies with the verdict,” said Tom Wetterer, a lawyer for Greenpeace. “We’re trying to sort that out.”

Defense lawyers have asked Miller to acquit Sorensen and Greenpeace.

“There was simply no conduct in this case that rose to the level of criminal negligence,” Wetterer said in a statement issued later.

Fayette, from the state’s special prosecutions office, has until May 18 to file a response.

“These types of motions are not uncommon,” Fayette said. “The verdicts say what the verdicts say. We think they’ll stand up.”

Greenpeace members, using the Arctic Sunrise, were involved in illegally boarding a barge that was headed to BP’s Beaufort Sea Northstar oil project in August 2000. Greenpeace said Aug. 8 that activists occupying the barge were removed from it by Alaska State Troopers after a 39-hour occupation.

—Petroleum News contributed to this article.